Inflatable hammock

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, an inflatable hammock is disclosed that has a single, integrated body including a first end, a second end, a bottom layer and two side layers. In one embodiment, the top and bottom layer and two side layers are inflatable. In other embodiments, the first end includes a pillow and each end may be coupled to a structure, such as a tree.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/526,301 which is herein incorporated in its entirety herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a hammock, and more particularly,relates to an inflatable hammock.

2. Background

Hammocks have been known and continue to be developed. In general, thehammock has a rectangle-like shape that can be adjusted so that themiddle slopes based on the tension provided at the ends. Hammocks alsotend to flip depending the amount of motion in the hammock.

Hammocks are commonly used for recreational purposes, but also may beused in industrial activities, Hammocks are often used as sleepingdevices and may be covered or uncovered. Current hammocks suffer fromseveral drawbacks including providing sufficient heat and/or insulation.

Moreover, current hammocks do not provide sufficient stability orcomfort. For example, hammocks do not come with additional padding forcomfort. Thus, many users add a pad or pillow or something similar tothe sleeping surface of the hammock. In such cases, the pad or pillowtends to slide and move, thus not providing a firm, stable sleepingarea. Further, in some cases, additional padding can be cumbersome tocarry and its weight difficult to center under the user. There is alsoadditional equipment necessary to secure any external padding and/orinserts of insulation.

Therefore, what is needed is a hammock that provides sufficientstability, comfort and support without the need for extra external,padding or insulation.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a hammock is disclosed and includes a single, integratedbody including a bottom layer, a top layer, a first side layer, a secondside layer, a first end, and a second end, wherein the top and bottomlayer and first and second layers are inflatable. The first and secondends may include one or more devices to coupling the hammock to astructure. An end of the body may include or be formed substantially inthe shape of a pillow, which may be inflatable or adjustable.

The body may be substantially rectilinear. The top layer and first andsecond layers may include a plurality of welds. In some embodiments,each of the welds may have s a thickness of approximately one centimeterand a distance between each weld of approximately, eight centimeters.

The hammock may include a valve for receiving air. The hammock mayinclude, a waterproof material. In some embodiments, heat welding may beused for the top and bottom layers and first and second layers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention may be better understood by referring to the followingfigures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of theinvention. In the figures, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is an example of a hammock in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an example of the hammock in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an example view of the hammock.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example view of the hammock.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed below can beutilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachingsto provide a device, system, and/or method for an inflatable hammock.Representative examples of the present invention, which examples utilizemany of these additional features and teachings both separately and incombination, will now be described in further detail with reference tothe attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended toteach a person of skill in the art further details for practicingpreferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limitthe scope of the invention. Therefore, combinations of features andsteps disclosed in the following detail description may not be necessaryto practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taughtmerely to particularly describe representative examples of the presentteachings

Moreover, the various features of the representative examples and thedependent claims may be combined in ways that are not specifically andexplicitly enumerated to provide additional useful embodiments of thepresent teachings. In addition, it is expressly noted that all featuresdisclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to bedisclosed separately and independently from each other for the purposeof original disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting theclaimed subject matter independent of the compositions of the featuresin the embodiments and/or the claims. It is also expressly noted thatall value ranges or indications of groups of entities disclose everypossible intermediate value or intermediate entity for originaldisclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimedsubject matter.

Devices, methods, and systems are described for an inflatable hammockwith a single integrated body having a body with a first layer andsecond layer, a top layer and bottom layer that may be inflated andfirst and second ends. The term “integrate” means to combine (one thing)with another so that they become a whole.

In some embodiments, the material that forms the inflatable hammockincludes any material that is light and strong enough to provide acomfortable sleeping area for a person and durable enough to hold airover long periods. In one embodiment, the material may include twolayers of waterproof and/or air proof fabric that may be heat weldedtogether to hold air in and provide comfort and insulation. In oneembodiment, the fabric may be polyurethane coated nylon. Other possiblematerials may include polyester, nylon, Kevlar, or any other airtight,insulating, and/or puncture resistant plastic and/or fabric. In someembodiments, the hammock may include a foam layer, e.g. urethane foam,sandwiched between the top and bottom layers to provide additionalinsulation value and aid in inflating the body of the hammock.

In one embodiment, an inflatable body provides a thermal barrier betweenthe user and the outside air. In some embodiments, the inflatable bodymay expand the available sleeping area when laying inside the hammock.In other embodiments, the hammock reduces or substantially eliminatesslipping or sliding in the sleeping area when the body is inflated.

In some embodiments, the hammock may be configured with an insectnetting or rainfly. In other embodiments, the hammock may be configuredto placed inside a carrying sack or pouch, in other embodiments, thehammock may be the first and second ends include one or more devices tocoupling the hammock to a structure. In one embodiment, the fasteningdevice may be a carabiner and rope. In other embodiments, the fasteningdevice may be a straps, ropes, or hooks. In other embodiment, the firstend may be formed substantially in the shape of a pillow. In someembodiments, the pillow may adjustable or inflatable. In otherembodiments, the body may be substantially rectilinear or substantiallytriangular.

FIG. 1 shows a hammock 1 in an embodiment inflated and may include aninflatable body 12 that includes a top layer 10, bottom layer 15, andsides 9. A valve 13 may be included to provide an to the body 12 usingany device that may supply air or by manually breathing into the valve13.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the hammock 1 may include sides 6, welds 4,and sides welds 3. The welds 3 and 4 may be connected at joints 5. Inone embodiment, a weld perimeter may determine a size of the inflatableportions of the body and the spacing of the welds may determine howthick the air cavity of the body may be. In one embodiment, the welds3,4 may be approximately one centimeter thick and may be spaced apart byapproximately eight centimeters. The dimensions of the hammock may varydepending on how many people are provided in the sleeping area of thebody. In other embodiments, the spacing of the welds may be chosen toregulate the insulation value or a body thickness.

The hammock 1 may also include a fastening device 7 coupled to a rope 11at each end 6. In some embodiments, device 7 and rope 11 may be onlycoupled only to one end 6. The fastening device 7 may be a carabiner orhooks or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the rope 11 may bereplaced, with straps. In some embodiments, the hammock may be securedto any structure, such as a tree.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hammock may also include a pillow 8. The pillow8 may be inflated using valve 13, as described above, and may have anysuitable shape. The pillow 8 may have a width of approximately 60centimeters and a height of approximately 30 centimeters. In otherembodiments, the pillow may have a width of approximately 90 centimetersand a height of approximately 40 centimeters. Suitable materials for thepillow may include polyester, nylon, Kevlar, or any other airtight,insulating, and/or puncture resistant plastic, fabric, and/or urethanefoam.

FIG. 2 shows a view of the hammock 1 in an embodiment inflated. Asshown, the material for end 6 may be different that the material forbody 12. Additionally, the end 6 may include area 6A that is made from amaterial the same or different from body 12 and end 6. Suitablematerials for end 6 and area 6A include those for hammock 1. Suitablematerials for the pillow may include polyester, nylon, Kevlar, or anyother airtight, insulating, and/or puncture resistant plastic, fabric,and/or urethane foam.

FIG. 3 shows a view of hammock 1 in an embodiment inflated. The pillow 8when inflated may be than the weld 4 or raised above the weld 4 in otherembodiments. The pillow may be formed from a material same as body 12 ordifferent. Suitable materials for the pillow include those for thehammock 1.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the hammock 1 in an embodiment inflated. In someembodiments, the pillow 8 may be inflated independent of the body 12through a valve 14 that provides air only to the pillow 8. In otherembodiments, the pillow may be inflated with the body, in such a case, aloop of material 8A may be provided to restrict the inflatable height ofthe pillow.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed.Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent topractitioners skilled m this art. Similarly, any process steps describedmight be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the sameresult. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explainthe principles of the invention and its best mode practical application,thereby to enable others skilled in the art to understand the inventionfor various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited tothe particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents. Reference to an element in the singular is notintended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, butrather means “one or more.” Moreover, no element, component, nor methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the following claims. No claim element herein isto be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112, sixthparagraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for . . . .”

Furthermore, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to thescope of the present invention in any way. It is also to be understoodthat the steps and processes recited in the claims need not be performedin the order presented.

1. A hammock, comprising: a single, integrated body including a top andbottom layer, a first side layer, a second side layer, a first end, anda second end, wherein the top layer, bottom layer and first and secondlayers are inflatable.
 2. The hammock of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond ends include one or more devices to coupling the hammock to astructure.
 3. The hammock of claim 1, wherein an end of the bodyincludes or is formed substantially in the shape of a pillow.
 4. Thehammock of claim 1, wherein the body is substantially rectilinear ortriangular.
 5. The hammock of claim 1, wherein the bottom layer andfirst and second layers include a plurality of welds.
 6. The hammock ofclaim 5, wherein each of the welds has a thickness of approximately onecentimeter and a distance between each weld of approximately eightcentimeters.
 7. The hammock of claim 1 further comprising a valve forreceiving air.
 8. The hammock of claim 1 further comprising a waterproofmaterial.
 9. The hammock of claim 1 further comprising heat welding thebottom layer, the top layer, and first and second layers.
 10. Thehammock of claim 3 wherein the pillow is adjustable or inflatable.